The camp was quiet again.
After the lantern festival, most of the students had collapsed into their tents, their laughter slowly fading into the deep silence of the countryside night. Only the soft hum of insects and the distant ripple of the canal remained awake.
Moonlight washed over the village like silver paint.
Yun lay in her tent, staring at the canvas roof above her. The lantern release should have made her sleepy, but instead her mind felt strangely restless.
Her wish kept echoing in her head.
I wish I could remember something.
She sighed and turned onto her side.
Outside, the breeze rustled the trees.
Then suddenly—
Splash.
The sound was faint, but clear enough to reach her ears.
Yun frowned.
At first she thought it was just the canal moving, but something about it felt… deliberate.
Carefully, she slipped out of her sleeping bag and stepped outside the tent.
The night air was cool and smelled faintly of river water and wildflowers.
The lanterns from earlier had mostly drifted away, leaving the courtyard dim except for a few flickering lights hanging from the branches.
Another sound came from the canal.
This time she was sure.
Someone was there.
Yun quietly followed the stone path toward the water, her footsteps soft against the damp ground.
When she reached the canal bank, she stopped.
A figure stood knee-deep in the water, reaching toward something caught in the branches above.
Moonlight reflected across the ripples, revealing messy hair and a familiar silhouette.
"Wen?" she whispered.
He turned sharply, nearly losing his balance.
"Oh—" he said, steadying himself. "You scared me."
"What are you doing in the canal again?" Yun asked, trying to keep her voice low so the teachers wouldn't hear.
Wen looked slightly embarrassed.
"A lantern got stuck," he said, pointing toward a glowing paper lantern tangled in a low tree branch.
"And you decided swimming at midnight was the best solution?"
He shrugged. "Seemed logical."
She crossed her arms.
"You have terrible logic."
He grinned. "Probably."
After a moment, he managed to pull the lantern free. The paper fluttered softly in the wind as he stepped back onto the bank, dripping water onto the stones.
Yun noticed something written on the side of the lantern.
"Wait," she said. "Is that yours?"
Wen hesitated.
"Maybe."
She leaned closer to read it.
The paper glowed faintly under the moonlight, the ink slightly smudged from water.
"I wish I could remember the girl from that summer."
Yun froze.
Something inside her chest shifted suddenly — like a door creaking open somewhere deep in her mind.
"The girl from… summer?" she repeated softly.
Wen rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's nothing," he said quickly. "Just a dumb wish."
But Yun didn't answer.
Her eyes were fixed on the lantern.
And suddenly—
A flash.
Lantern lights floating across dark water.
The smell of sweets in the air.
A small boy laughing beside her.
Her heart skipped.
For a split second she could almost see his face.
Yun blinked.
The memory vanished just as quickly as it appeared.
She took a step back, pressing her hand against her chest.
"Hey," Wen said, noticing her expression. "Are you okay?"
"I… I don't know," she murmured.
The wind moved through the trees, scattering petals across the water.
Wen's expression softened.
"Did something happen?"
Yun shook her head slowly.
"It's weird," she said. "When I read that… it felt like I almost remembered something."
Wen stared at her.
"What kind of memory?"
She looked out across the canal, her voice barely above a whisper.
"A summer night."
He felt his heartbeat quicken.
"There were lanterns," she continued. "And fireworks. And… sweets."
The air between them grew still.
Wen's breath caught.
"Do you remember the person you were with?" he asked quietly.
Yun closed her eyes, trying to hold onto the fragile image in her mind.
"I remember… someone laughing," she said.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"And a hand."
Wen didn't realize he had stepped closer until they were standing only inches apart.
"What kind of hand?" he asked.
Yun slowly opened her eyes.
"I think… he was holding mine."
The words hung between them like fragile glass.
For a long moment neither of them moved.
The moonlight reflected in the canal behind them, the water rippling softly against the stones.
Wen looked at her like he was seeing something he had been searching for his entire life.
But before he could say anything—
A branch snapped nearby.
Both of them turned.
Chen Hao stepped out from the shadow of the trees.
He had clearly been standing there for a while.
His expression was calm, but his eyes carried something much heavier.
"You two really like midnight walks," he said quietly.
Yun blinked in surprise.
"Chen? What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," he replied.
His gaze briefly shifted to Wen, then back to Yun.
"You disappeared again."
Wen straightened slightly.
"We were just—"
"I know," Chen interrupted gently.
His eyes flickered toward the lantern still glowing faintly in Wen's hand.
For a second, something painful crossed his face.
Then he forced a smile.
"It's late," he said. "We should go back before the teachers wake up."
Yun hesitated.
Her eyes drifted back to Wen for a brief moment.
The strange feeling in her chest hadn't faded yet.
Not completely.
But she nodded.
"Okay."
She turned and began walking back toward the tents with Chen Hao.
Wen remained by the canal, watching them go.
The lantern in his hand flickered softly in the night wind.
Behind him, the canal water moved slowly beneath the moon.
And somewhere deep in his mind, a voice from years ago echoed faintly.
"Don't forget me, okay?"
He stared at the lantern again.
Then whispered quietly into the night,
"I think… I finally found you."
The wind carried the lantern's light across the water, trembling gently in the darkness.
And for the first time in years, the past felt closer than ever.